


Nightmare

by Romanumeternal



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ancient Rome, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Non-Sexual Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 12:30:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romanumeternal/pseuds/Romanumeternal





	Nightmare

She was sobbing, helplessly, as the man in front of her stood, hands on his hips, and adressed the rest of his staff. They were watching with pale, drawn faces. Wide, frightened eyes, barely concealed shudders; their body language showing fear, misery, even sorrow for her. But most of all, relief that they weren't her.

 

"You stupid fucks just don't get it, do you?" the man roared, his large belly wobbling with his anger. "You are my fucking property, you understand?". He spat on the ground, and the staff closest to him shuffled backwards.

 

There was silence, until he shouted the question again. "You understand?" A whimpered chorus of 'yes, domunius' followed, and the bearded man turned around to face Marlia, handcuffed to the chair. She didn't struggle; she'd been restrained in so many ways through her life that she knew that struggling never suceeded. If she could have, she would have begged. Begging wouldn't avoid punishment - it never did - but it sometimes softened it. But she couldn't even do that. A large, steel contraption had been inserted into her mouth, forcing it painfully open, letting her drool run humiliatingly out of her mouth and over her chin, before splattering on her breasts. So she just sobbed, tears and snot running into her mouth, down her face, onto her body. Her arm had been broken the day before, during the initial beating following the discovery of her theft.

 

"A lot of you" the man said, continuing his spiel "appear to think that, since Darlius ran off, that you can slack. Relax. Thieve. But this is not the case. When we get Darlius back, you'll hear him scream alright. He'll beg us to kill him by the end. Until then, consider this a warning."

 

Tears obscured her vision, blind terror eating into her, a mixture of the horrible certainty of pain and humiliation and the mystery of what form it would take. Last nights beating had been severe, but this...this she'd never experienced before. Her dominus was vicious, yes, and strict, but surely a beating was enough for what she'd done? No, of course it wasn't. Ever since a waiter had run off, her dominus had to make an example, reassert his authority.

 

"This little slut, this whore, this piece of fucking shit" the man continued at his trembling audience "appears to think she can eat when she fucking wants. She seems to think that the only thing that matters in life is her own fucking pleasure. She doesn't recognise her fucking place. She thought it was acceptable to steal food. Five potatoes, destined for paying fucking customers!" There was a pause, and then, with a triumphant snarl: "therefore, I've decided that for every potato she stole, she should lose a molar. Every time she eats she'll notice the gap and be reminded of her place" .

 

The other slaves gasped, and looked at each other anxiously. There was a faint mutter, which lasted until the man fixed the group with a glare. Then, they went silent as the grave; as Marlia's eyes grew wide and she was sent into a frenzy of panic; a howl of raw misery and fear erupting from deep inside her throat. Heedless of the futility, she struggled madly against the chair, jerking her head back and forth, trying to close her mouth held open by jaws of steel as the man, without any fuss or concern, calmly fished out a pair of pliers from his pocket and slowly walked towards her. A strong hand grabbed her hair, pulling her head pack, and she had a glimpse of bulky, iron pliers. Terror stricken, she screamed as her tongue felt the cold metal enter her mouth, and then -

 

She sat upright, shivering, panting, gasping. She looked around wildly in the dark, hearing her own breaths unnaturally loudly, feeling her heart beat madly inside her chest. Where was she? Why wasn't she in a chair? Had she fainted? Had she-

 

She remembered where she was, muscles she hadn't been aware she'd tensed relaxing. She was a slave, sure, but to a aristocratic girl slightly younger than her, not to a pimp/barkeeper. She wasn't strapped to a chair in a dingy bar in Athens, awaiting torture, but in a small cubicle, off Julia's hotel room in Luetia. Her tongue found its way to the holes in her dentition. And her teeth had been ripped out from her mouth seven years ago.

 

She collapsed back on the bed, shuddering. Gods above, she hadn't had a nightmare that bad in...well, ages. She had nightmares often enough, of course, but hardly ever that vividly, realistically. She could have sworn she had actually heard herself scream...  
Oh Romulus above. Had she actually, physically, really screamed?

 

Hope I didn't wake my domina up she thought. I remember the last time I woke up someone due to a nightmare, and I got punched in the nose. And that was from another slave. She's gonna be pissed at me if I woke-

 

The door to her cubicle was flung open, light flooding into the small room, and the girl who owned her looked down on her, eyes narrowed; hair cascading over her shoulders. From the flimsy nightdress she wore, and the disorder of her hair, she looked as though she'd been sleeping until very, very recently until jerked awake from sleep. The expression on her face - contempt mixed with anger - suggested that she blamed Marlia for said jerking.

 

Oh, damn it. I'm in trouble.

 

She forced an apologetic look onto her face as Julia gave full vent to her irritation.

 

"What the hell are you playing at, cretin?" Julia hissed, voice lowered out of respect for anyone else who might be trying to sleep, glaring at the maid. "You stupid girl, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Had she been at home, that voice would have been considerably louder.

 

Marlia gulped, and then realised she was lying down on a bed as her domina stood; an apparent disrespect which she couldn't afford right now, not with Julia in this mood. She hastily got to her feet, blankets tumbling off her, realising belatedly she was naked. Oh well. Nothing a lot of people haven't seen before. 'Sides, scrambling around to put on clothes would be even more disrespectful. If Julia noticed her nudity, she gave no indication, instead continuing to glare at her.

 

"A-apologies, domina" she stammered.  
Julia rolled her eyes. "I didn't want apologies, I want to get some sleep without you yelling. If that is possible for you?" She looked Marlia up and down, coolly; Marlia could almost feel her eyes roving over her. "Or perhaps you were imagining getting happily naked with someone" she carried on, her lips curling in a sneer. Whether it was contemptuous amusement at the thought of Marlia lusting after a man, or simply a feeling of superiority as Julia compared her own, graceful figure to Marlia's small, skinny body, the maid wasn't sure.

 

Marlia repressed a wince. She knows damn well I would be quite happy to never have sex with anyone for the rest of my life. And I accidentally woke her up having a nightmare which actually happened to me, when the worst that has ever happened to her is falling off a horse and spraining her bloody arm. She stopped that train of thought quickly. Thinking about life's unfairness never did her any good.

 

"No, domina" she said, miserably. Julia shook her head, whether in anger, disgust or contempt Marlia couldn't tell, and then frowned, stepping forward smartly. Marlia closed her eyes, tensing her body . What is it now? Just a slap for no good reason other than to relieve her feelings?

 

"You're shaking. All over." She looked closely at Marlia's face, and then - "and you're all teary eyed."

 

Marlia blinked, realising, indeed, that she was shivering and there were tears in her eyes, relics from her nightmare. She said nothing. Julia, without a word, lifted Marlia's left arm and held it straight, before letting go and observing her hand. It shook like a leaf in the darkness, and Julia's frown deepened. She bit her lip thoughfully, and for a moment Marlia thought she looked almost- guilty. Then, as quickly as it appeared (if it had even appeared) - it was gone.  
"You're shaking badly" muttered Julia. "And that wasn't a yell, but a scream I heard. Romulus above. Oh, sit down Marls." There was a definite note of concern in the aristocratic voice now.

 

Well, I prefer her mood sympathetically condescending far more than angry. And she's always been quite...changable.  
Obeying almost instinctively, Marlia sat down on the bed, hugging her arms around her body. She looked up at Julia, who was regarding her now with curiosity and - she was gratified, if surprised, to see - almost sympathy.

 

"Nightmare, I guess?" said Julia and Marlia nodded dumbly, before realising how disrespectful that could be and murmuring 'yes, domina'.

 

"Huh. Must have been a bad one, girl. You startled me enough I thought someone was being murdered in the street. I was about to call the Vigilium."

 

"Sorry for waking you, domina".

 

Julia waved a forgiving hand. "Don't worry. I wasn't actually asleep. Messaging Antonia, actually. Or rather, she was messaging me. Apparantly, she's had to sell her last maid after she had the poor bitch flogged so much she lost her sight. Romulus above, Antonia does get through 'em. But back to you. You look as though you've seen a ghost."

 

"Just...memories I guess, domina." Marlia looked at Julia, trying to ascertain how much detail Julia actually wanted. Sometimes, she knew, Julia didn't much care about her minion- assuming she was fit and able to perform her duties, the heiress regarded the maid as simply beneath her notice, and excess conversation with her was not encouraged; the very model of Roman behavior when it came to the servile classes. Other times, though, normally when no one else was present, she indulged in conversation with her; which sometimes even (albeit rarely) extended to wondering about Marlia's perspective on whatever was being discussed. Julia could get surprisingly snappy if Marlia got the balance wrong, dismissing her as either being 'uppity' or 'sulky' depending on the circumstance.

"Bad ones, evidently." Julia flashed a smile. "None involving me, I hope."

Yes, Julia, because everything is always about you, isn't it? I don't really count, do I? And are you really stupid enough to think that I'd say yes if that was the case? Although give her her due. She's taking a concern, and that's more than you can say for most. Many wouldn't be upset if they were the subject of nightmares and a few might revel in it. Or punish you for screaming.

Marlia leaned back slightly, feeling her backbone settle against the cool, bare plaster of the walls.

"None, domina. From...how shall I say...before you owned me?"

 

"That far back, huh." She sat down beside Marlia, who was so startled she almost leapt to her feet . "Want to talk about it? When I was a kid Marcella - my nurse, y'know - would always ask me what was wrong if I had one. It helped. I had a few after mummy...well, anyway." She trailed off, slightly self consciously, realising no doubt how ridiculous she looked, sitting beside a slave and asking her how she was and if she fancied talking through her nightmares. For a moment, Marlia could almost see the two different urges conflicting inside Julia's mind - on the one hand, to maintain her social standing, the chasm that separated them - and on the other, her natural curiosity (or nosiness, depending on one's viewpoint) and perhaps even an actual wish to understand. After a moment, the latter urge won. After all, it wasn't as if anyone else was watching, was it?

 

"It's nothing, honestly, domina" said Marlia, almost reeling with surprise that Julia would deign to ask her what her problems were. It was meant to be the other way around, after all. She had known Julia for two years, and in that time could count the number of times Julia had asked about her wellbeing on her fingers. After all, to her sort, a slave's wellbeing is utterly irrelevant most of the time. We're tools that talk, not people who dream.

 

"Didn't sound like nothing" said Julia, neutrally. "It sounded like you were terrified. Hearing it gave me the shudders. There was some weird sobbing like sounds before, and then this blood-chilling howl. And then I guess you woke up." She essayed a grin. "Along with half the population of Luetia, I shouldn't wonder. And I came in here and you looked like you'd just been to Hades."  
"More like back to Athens, domina" said Marlia, slowly.

 

"Athens? Romulus above, what a dump that place is. No wonder you had nightmares." She looked at Marlia, intently. "Is that were you were, before? Athens?"

 

"For a while, yes, domina. Athens. A bar called the Naked Venus."

 

"Sounds classy."

 

"It sounds classier than it was. You can imagine the clients. It was where I lost my teeth."

 

Julia shuddered. "And that's what you were dreaming about? No wonder you were screaming. I recall reading that in your file. Someone took then out with pliers. As a punishment." She screwed up her face at the thought. "Let's hope Antonia never hears about that, otherwise her servants will all be on soup for the rest of their lives. I always figured that was what made you so...docile. I guess."Well, that's one way of putting it - broken might be another. There was a pause of about ten seconds, and then Julia frowned as another thought occurred to her. "Romulus above, Marls, you must have really been ungovernable back then. What on Earth did you do to deserve it?"

 

"Nothing, domina."

 

There was a pause, and then Julia sighed. Her voice became colder, sharper.

 

"Marlia, don't lie to me. Tell me the truth - now - and I'll reconsider having you flogged tomorrow for lying."

 

Marlia flinched at the threat. One she might actually carry through, for once. Gods above, how to make her understand?

 

"I wasn't lying, domina. Well...more precisely...I stole some food."

 

Julia snorted. "Uh-huh. Its funny, because the version of Latin I speak has different words for 'stealing a bunch a stuff' and 'absolutely nothing'. So basically, you were a little thief?". She paused and then added, in a slightly prim, self satisfied tone. "Frankly, probably a good thing you had that done to you then. Otherwise you would have kept stealing, no doubt. It hurt then, but its done you the world of good since".

 

Marlia closed her eyes. Just accept it. Just accept that she has absolutely no idea of what your life was like and thinks that you deserved to be horribly mutilated for saving yourself from starvation.  
"Perhaps, domina. I was starving at the time, though." She looked Julia straight in the eye. "They fed us based on how well we performed - or rather, how well they thought we worked. The manager didn't let me eat for a week; apparently I was lazy." She smiled, sadly. "Its amazing how hard a girl can work when she hasn't eaten for seven straight days. On the eighth day - I broke. Stole five potatoes. The manager saw me, and - bang! Five teeth ripped out. After the obligatory beating and - well, you can guess what else."

 

Julia opened her mouth, shocked. Marlia mentally breathed a sigh of relief. You nearly went far, far, far too far then. That's detail she doesn't need to - or want to - know. I didn't want or mean for all that to come out but...Hades. How often am I asked about my life?

 

"But - but that's barbaric" Julia spat. "I thought you had stolen.. I don't know, expensive wine or something. But..." she shook her head. "Its almost enough to make you want to be an abolitionist, isn't it? But.." she stared at Marlia, horror stricken, as if the maid's face was visbly rotting in front of her. "It's awful" she concluded. "I...who'd do that sort of thing?" She sounded so indignant on Marlia's behalf the maid almost smiled. Had she admitted to some worse crime Marlia doubted that Julia's reaction would have been quite so vitriolic, but it was still a surprising and somewhat endearing display.

 

"The manager, domina."

 

"What a foul, despicable man. I'd never... never dream of doing that to you. If it was minor I'd have you whipped or something, and if it was something truly awful I'd just sell you." She grabbed Marlia's bare shoulder, unexpectedly hard. "You know that, right? You know I wouldn't...wouldn't have that done to you?"

 

Her blue eyes widened, imploringly, and Marlia realised with a start she was desperate for the maid to believe her. Unexpectedly, Marlia felt a lump in her throat, a pricking in her eyes.

 

Oh, come on, Marlia. She'd still be quite happy to have you flogged or beaten or sold to a sadist somewhere. Don't confuse squeamishness with actual pity.

 

"You know that, right?" Julia repeated. "I mean...you're property and all, I know that, but there's some stuff you just don't do".

 

No...its not just squeamishness, is it? You actually don't like the idea of me being tortured...somewhere, somehow, you don't see me as just a tool that talks. You're....you're actually attatched to me, in a way.  
Marlia smiled, more reassuringly. "I know that, domina." For a moment, she feared her voice might catch; which thankfully Julia didn't notice. She knew Julia liked her at some level, of course - Hades, she'd even admitted to it once or twice, although Marlia reckoned it was mostly the vague affection one might show to a nice dress or amusing book or whatever, rather than a genuine personal connection . But this...

 

She'd actually miss me if I vanished she thought, the idea appearing from nowhere and establishing itself in her mind. The others would only mind because they had one less pair of hands to work or one less body to fuck or whatever...but she'd miss me - although she'd never admit that to anyone; definitely not me and not even herself. On the trail of that came another, much less welcome thought. That might be the first time ever someone actually thinks that.

 

"Good" said Julia, frowning. "Bastards. Why would they do that to you? Cause they could, I guess, like the shits who killed my mother. Utter barbarians. Guess you can't expect more from a slum like Athens, but still..." she trailed off, and then, incredibly, gave Marlia's hand a brief squeeze before standing up. "You sure you're alright? I don't want want you screaming all night."

 

"Yes, domina. Have a good night, domina."

 

Marlia lay back down on the bed, as Julia closed the door behind her. She frowned to herself.

 

I wonder how Julia will be like in the morning. Let's just hope that she doesn't think I might become too....familiar with her.

 

Mind you, she was right about one thing. Talking dreams over does help. 

******************************************************************************************  
"Good morning, domina."

 

Julia opened her eyes, grinned, and stretched, before throwing the covers off her bed. She yawned, widely, and then focused on the breakfast tray.

 

"They have apricot jam? Excellent. Put the tray on the table, girl." The moment Marlia placed the tray, Julia's hand shot out, grabbing a slice of toast and chewing it with relish, heedless of the crumbs scattering on the bedsheets. She closed her eyes in low level ecstasy.

 

"I do so love apricot jam, girl. Nothing like it for breakfast. Nothing at all." She reached for another slice, and ate with just as much enjoyment.

 

"I thought they'd be a queue for it, domina, so I went down early and grabbed as much as I could."

 

"You're brilliant, you know that?" said Julia, reaching for yet another slice. She stopped, mid reach. "You look a tad nervous about something, though. Are you trying to get on my good side before you confess some misdeed?" She grinned. "Perhaps you're trying to butter me up, eh?"

 

Marlia, ignoring the pun (which Julia made approximately twice a week) to a look of slight displeasure from Julia, took a deep breath, and began to say what she'd been mentally rehearsing for the last two hours. She'd been dreading saying it, but she reckoned it needed to be said. She needed to show Julia she understood her place, and last night's conversation had had no impact on that understanding.

"Domina, about last night-"

 

"Did anything happen last night, girl?" said Julia, toast nearly to her lips. "I don't recall anything important."

 

Marlia's mouth opened and closed. Then she caught Julia's uncharacteristically sharp look, and simply nodded in full understanding.

 

"Understood completely, domina. Please, forget I said anything. Now...can I get you coffee..."


End file.
